A shell script for managing FreeCAD AppImage installations on Linux.
Handles downloading stable and weekly builds from GitHub releases, maintaining
a stable symlink to whichever weekly build you want active, writing .desktop
entries, and cleaning up old builds.
bashcurlpython3(standard library only)
No package manager, no root, no PPA required.
cp freecad-manager ~/.local/bin/freecad-manager
chmod +x ~/.local/bin/freecad-managerMake sure ~/.local/bin is on your PATH.
freecad-manager [command]
Run without arguments for an interactive menu.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
menu |
Interactive menu (default) |
list |
Show installed AppImages and active symlinks |
symlink |
Pick which local weekly build freecad-weekly points to |
stable-symlink |
Pick which local stable release freecad-stable points to |
weekly |
Download the latest weekly build |
stable |
Download the latest stable release |
cleanup |
Remove old builds, keeping active weekly + active stable |
# Download the latest weekly build and set it as active
freecad-manager weekly
# Later: download a newer weekly, keep the old one around
freecad-manager weekly
# Switch between installed weekly builds
freecad-manager symlink
# Remove old weekly builds
freecad-manager cleanup| Path | Purpose |
|---|---|
<appdir>/FreeCAD_weekly-*.AppImage |
Weekly build AppImages |
<appdir>/freecad-weekly |
Symlink to active weekly build |
<appdir>/FreeCAD_[0-9]*.AppImage |
Stable release AppImages |
<appdir>/freecad-stable |
Symlink to active stable release |
~/.local/share/applications/freecad-weekly.desktop |
Weekly desktop entry |
~/.local/share/applications/freecad-stable.desktop |
Stable desktop entry |
<appdir> is the first writable directory found on $PATH that is under
$HOME, or the first writable $PATH entry otherwise.
Builds are downloaded directly from the FreeCAD GitHub releases:
- Weekly builds — tags matching
weekly-YYYY.MM.DD - Stable releases — versioned tags (e.g.
1.1.0)
- Tested on Ubuntu 24.04 / Linux Mint only; other distros welcome.
MIT